The four states with the largest eligible voter populations – California, New York, Florida and Texas – are also home to most immigrant eligible voters. Together, these states hold over half (56%) of the nation’s immigrant voters.
California has the largest immigrant eligible voter population by a large margin. In addition, immigrants make up 21% of California’s eligible voters, the highest of any state. New Jersey (19%), New York (18%) and Florida (16%) have the next highest shares.
Even so, immigrant eligible voters are dispersed across the nation. While California may have more immigrant voters than any other state, many states have substantial immigrant eligible voter populations (see Appendix).
Where the immigrant electorate is growing fastest
Since 2000, the states with the fastest growing immigrant eligible voter populations have been Georgia, Minnesota and North Carolina. All three have seen their numbers of immigrant eligible voters nearly triple between 2000 and 2018. Georgia increased by 193% during this time, the nation’s fastest growth.
Meanwhile, the states with the largest immigrant eligible voter populations have grown too, though more slowly. For example, California’s eligible voter population is up 63% since 2000. Moreover, the states with the three largest immigrant eligible voter populations (California, New York and Florida) together accounted for 43% of the U.S. immigrant electorate growth between 2000 and 2018.
In states with largest immigrant electorates, Mexico is often top country of birth
The states with the largest immigrant voter populations differ in where their immigrant electorates were born. Mexico, the top birth country among U.S. immigrant voters, is also the top birth country of immigrant voters in California (1.5 million) and Texas (736,000). But the next largest birth countries vary by state. In California, Filipino immigrant voters (604,000) and Vietnamese immigrant voters (430,000) are the second- and third-largest groups. Among immigrant eligible voters in Texas, Vietnam (130,000) and India (115,000) are the second- and third-largest birth countries.
The Dominican Republic (264,000) is the top birth country of immigrant eligible voters in New York, while those born in Cuba (606,000) are the largest group of immigrant eligible voters in Florida. In New Jersey, India (122,000) is the top birth country among immigrant voters.
